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Crystal Palace’s first European team in Selhurst Park ended a victory, but the score was closer than many expected.
The second half of Jean-Philippe Mateta showed the difference when the Eagles edited the Norwegian visitors Fredriksad 1-0 in the first game of their play-off in the league of the Europe Conference.
It was a historic evening in southern London, with Selhurst Park that welcomed continental football for the first time. However, the accumulation was dominated by issues outside the field. Eomechi Eze, the club’s Talismanic player, was removed from the squad in the middle of an imminent transfer to the arsenal.
Its absence was large during the 90 minutes, as the side of Oliver Glasner cut off 25 goal attempts, but did not have the avant -garde to build a command advantage before the turn of next week in Norway.
The tone of the night was set soon. The possession controlled by the palace of the first whistle, Fredrikstad fell in a compact shape and relying on the long shots and counterattacks to relieve the pressure.
Marc Guehi, who captured the side and advancing from the Center-Back, was unlikely the most creative force of the palace in the opening period.
He produced three efforts on the goal and two key steps in the first half that emphasized both their technical capacity and the palace struggle to unlock the visitors without Eze.
The eagles created a lot, but they were repeatedly wasted. Guehi himself sent a header from a long launch, Mateta had a left foot strike saved by goalkeeper Poscheim, while Jefferson Lerma and Adam Wharton fired out of the firm position.
The clearest opportunity fell to Mateta, whose power was diverted to the post, leaving Selhurst moaning in unison.
Fredrikstad, despite offering shortly after, almost stole leadership against the game. In the middle of the first half, Sorlokk burst on the left and squared to a dangerous area, only for the ball to be shown with its striker and wide from the end range.
It was a great reach for the palace and a reminder that European football punishes the prophection.
Heroic of the second half
The tension did not grow. Glasner’s frustration was evident when he left for the tunnel, knowing that his side dominated without a reward.
The second half began the same way, the palace forced mistakes at the height of the pitch, but did not apply the final touch. Devenny, he handed over the role of the Eze Field, missed a glorious opportunity for the Guehi Cross.
The relief finally came in the 54th minute. A long launch again undoed Fredrikstad’s defense, the ball fell to Will Hughes, whose volley was redirected by Mateta on the net.
It was a historic strike (the first European competition in the Palau) and briefly transformed the atmosphere into a carnival.
But flood doors were not opened. Mateta continued to worry about the defense, Hughes and Odyssonne Edouard combined well for the openings, and Daniel Munoz struck the post with a background head.
However, by all the pressure, Palace did not find the second goal that would have provided a real breathing space.
The closing minutes caused anxiety. The Skogvold substitute was released in the stoppage and had a level opportunity, only to drag his shot from the publication of Dean Henderson. Selhurst Park exhaled in relief, the intact narrow.
A 1-0 lead gives the palace something to defend Norway, but Glasner knows that the waste of his team leaves the tie.
With Eze, which also settled and also the subject of transfer speculation, the Eagles will have to sharpen their finish if they have to secure a place in the league phase.
